Grete Waitz won the NYC Marathon 9 times, more than any other, but her favorite memory of the race was completing it with Fred Lebow, just before he succumbed to cancer. She worked with her sponsor, Adidas, to give 5% of the Grete Waitz and Modern Classics collections to the "Aktiv mot kreft" (Active Against Cancer) cancer care foundation she started. No small irony that cancer took her life as well. When I was younger, and just starting to get interested in running, she was one of the runners I looked up to - her modesty, hard work, and care for others made a deep impression on me. She is the type of role model I hope that my daughter looks up to, seeing a strong woman who won and worked not just for herself, but her family and all those impacted by her foundation.
I heard about this too and it's just so sad. Cancer sucks...it just does. Hopefully some day they will find a cure!
ReplyDeleteSo sad - she was an incredible and inspiring athlete and human being.
ReplyDeleteso sad, she was amazing.
ReplyDeleteNeat segment on her on NPR last night. Sounds like she was an amazing person.
ReplyDeleteThank you for posting this. It needs more coverage than it was getting--she was an amazing woman and will be missed!
ReplyDeleteShe was one of the first runners that stands out in my memory, too. I had no idea…this is so sad.
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ReplyDeleteThis was the first I heard her past away. What a huge loss to the running community.
ReplyDeleteSo sad. She was such an inspiring athlete because she was an amazing person.
ReplyDeleteI was saddened by the new of her passing too. I remember watching her trying to catch Joan B. at the '84 Olympic marathon, suffering from obvious diarrhea (sorry about the visual). She was a truly great athlete in that she gave as much as she got.
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